Ascent of Capitol Peak on 2005-11-18

Ascent Trip Report

EN: "I came in from the south and up the main access road. I went to Larch first where I found a steep spur to the left of the main road with locked gate. Parking here, I headed up the road. At the switchback towards the lower east summit there is an old abandoned road through the brush. I followed this road until it petered out and then entered the woods where I quickly found the BM on a pole sticking a few feet out of the ground. The area is flat and wooded, indistinct, and with no views at all. I walked around for a while, felt satisfied, and returned the same way. I drove back South to a gate on the Capitol Peak spur road then walked this road up to the summit. I counted 17 towers all together- Towerutopia. It's unclear to me if any of the land by the towers is entirely natural. Larch Mtn can be seen as well as great views to everything northeast to southeast if you walk down the east slope a few feet or perhaps a hundred feet past the towers. My GPS said this summit is definitely higher than Larch and I thought Larch looked lower too. But maybe my brain had been microwaved by the towers. I also visited the other candidate highest contour to the north and it is lower. There is a video camera on one of those towers at the 2640+ summit to deter visitors from being mischevious with their equipment. I went back to the car and out the way I came."--Eric Noel, November 17, 2005